Riley can't plug holes in defense

Protecting the inside always has been one of the bedrock defensive principles for Heat coach Pat Riley.

It still is, but the Heat's perimeter defense has been so porous that Riley said he's increasingly relying on "gimmicks and schemes" to "protect and hide people."

There was no hiding it for the Heat on Sunday at Denver. The Nuggets danced into the lane from the start of their 115-89 victory and never stopped.

"You just can't allow it to come at you that easy," Riley said before the Heat played at Utah on Monday night.

The Nuggets had 56 points in the paint, and it wasn't because of a strong post game. Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Carter had easy passage into the paint for scores or passes for unchallenged dunks and layups.

Riley tried to slow the Nuggets with an assortment of tricked-up defenses, but Denver just kept scoring.

"We are starting to go to situations that I am not comfortable with," Riley said afterward. "Now all of a sudden your defensive principles and playing hard [suffer] because everyone is expecting all this help.

"We have just got to get back to the basic fundamentals of what our defense was when we won the championship and stop all the scheming and other stuff."

Alonzo Mourning, still covering for teammates by trying to block everything, appeared frustrated by the steady wave of players coming at him.

"The only thing I am frustrated about is looking down our roster and then looking at our record because I know we are better than that," Mourning said Monday.

RILEY GRIEVES

Riley flew from Denver to Louisville, Ky., after Sunday's game to attend the funeral of college teammate Tommy Kron, who died of cancer last week at age 63. Riley arrived back at EnergySolutions Arena about 90 minutes before tipoff.

"Tommy Kron was a dear friend of mine," Riley said. "I went back to respect his family and his memory. It was sudden, but I am ready to go."

Riley and Kron played at the University of Kentucky on the 1965-66 team, nicknamed "Rupp's Runts" after coach Adolph Rupp. The all-white Kentucky team lost to Texas Western's all-black starters in NCAA championship game, an event depicted in the 2006 film Glory Road.

WADE DUNKS

Guard Dwyane Wade dunked in the first quarter against the Jazz, his first since returning from knee and shoulder injuries on Nov. 14. Wade has said dunking would be a sign he's regaining strength in his left knee, and he had a total of three in the opening period. ...

Guard Jason Williams started against the Jazz after leaving Sunday with a right foot injury.